About Jonathan L. Snare

Jonathan L. Snare is currently serve as a Chairman and  Commissioner on the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent agency created by Congress to adjudicate OSHA contested citations involving workplace safety and health compliance. Snare was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to that role in October 2025.

Snare also served in several roles at the U.S. Labor Department between 2003-2009, and in 2025, including Acting Assistant Secretary for OSHA and Deputy Assistant Secretary, as well as Deputy Solicitor of Labor and Acting Solicitor of Labor.

Snare has been working in the area of workplace safety and health since the time of his service at the Labor Department, and he developed the idea behind CONFINED SPACE from that time, where he took part in investigating mine explosions on multidisciplinary teams like the one Dr. Challenger leads in the novel.

Prior to joining the Labor Department in 2003, he was in private law practice in Dallas, Texas. Originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, Snare graduated from the University of Virginia and obtained a law degree from Washington & Lee University School of Law.